Commentary (On Poem: WHY! ) W=459/ page
Autobiography or Memoir is written on the basis of one’s ability to collect memories, as one needs to retain or mark the past events and images.
We passed through variety of experiences and covering the whole gamut of emotions in life: Joys and sorrows, love and hate, loss and gain.
I take part in several memoir classes of seniors. We share our stories with one another in memoir classes. The focus of most seniors highlight the negative side of life: Such as disease(like cancer),death of beloved near and dear one, neglected and tortured childhood, painful delivery of baby or loss of baby, unhappy marriage ending in divorce, victim of rape, racism, survival of holocaust and so on. These are really hard part of life which is too painful to forget. But isn’t life something more?
Why fun, humor, at least experience of occasional stupidity that are experienced in everyday life are so rare to share with the readers to make them laugh? Bright side of life remain often shadowed in most memoirs.
Chirle Chaplin once said,” A day without laughter is a day wasted; laughter is the tonic, a relief from pain. “
Really, life is a tragedy when seen in close up, but become comedy in long shot; So better to view life not through microscope, but telescope. Memoir is a kind of psychotherapy. Sad moments loose the edginess through catharsis; it becomes metamorphosis in the process of long gap of time !
In my perception literature is turning to be feminine in gender; female contribution in poetry, fiction, children’s book, and specially cook books and memoirs is greater/ larger than that of the counter gender. From the latest trend it seems to me that library and bookstores will be flooded with cook-books and memoirs(of the female), except academic books for the schools and colleges.
Is it the future of our literature?
It is global pride for the greater participation of women due to the development of girls’ education.. But there should be balance in every field.‘Law of diminishing returns’ in Economics is not desirable in literature at all.
Then what causes this imbalance or discrepancy?
Is it that interest of male is declining in literature? Or, piles of cookbooks and personal memoirs are occupying/ (invading!) the intellectual field? In the battle of quality Vs quantity, the quantitative progress should be controlled; so that it does not supercede Quality.
It doesn’t indicate the uprising of literature.
Under the mercy and blessing of internet, number of writers are growing more than that of readers. In this age of Podcast, Instagram, spotify etc. people have neither time nor interest to read lengthy pieces .
Literature is same as the Garden of Eden; Whom to pray to save it from being occupied by weeds and parasites? To Athena or to Minerva? or Saraswati or to surrender at the alter of AI or ChatGpt?
End
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